Meatless Monday

I just found out about this cool campaign to encourage people to cut back on meat by giving up the stuff just one day a week, on Mondays. Since I'm a flexitarian by definition, leaning toward a plant-based diet, this is right up my alley!

From now on, the only recipes I'll be cooking, or posting, on Mondays will be meatless. I already started that today without even meaning to!

On My Hearth: Quick Spinach Roll-Ups

I truly love spinach, eat it every chance I get, often add it to pasta dishes, omelets, etc. Even my kids love it, have since they were babies. I guess there's something to that theory that if you introduce good foods to them when they are young they will acquire a taste for it.

I put this recipe into WW's Recipe Builder and came up with 8 POINTS per serving. It sounds a bit high to me but I guess they should know, right? Anyway, I made something similar years ago and it was very tasty and easier to portion than regular lasagna.
I don't have any chives so I'm going to substitute a bit of parsley; my herb garden is overflowing with it!

Quick Spinach Roll-Ups
Adapted from Healthy Homestyle Cooking,
by Evelyn Tribole (Rodale Press, 1994).

These tempting little packets of spinach and cheese rolled in a lasagna noodle are just the thing for a spring supper. Add a loaf of crusty whole-grain bread and a crisp salad and you have a nourishing and healthful meal: these Quick Spinach Roll-Ups are rich in eye-helping lutein and they’re low in fat!

INGREDIENTS

8 lasagna noodles
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 15-ounce container reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bunch baby spinach leaves, chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup finely shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the egg whites, ricotta, Parmesan and salt. Set cheese mixture aside.

3. Lightly spray an unheated large skillet with olive oil no-stick spray. Add spinach and chives. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add spinach mixture to cheese mixture, stirring until combined.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 12-inch by 71/2-inch by 2-inch baking dish.

5. To assemble, place one noodle on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Place 1/4 cup of spinach mixture in a mound 1/4-inch from the short end. Roll noodle around the spinach mixture. Carefully remove bundle from parchment and place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles and spinach mixture.

6. Pour remaining sauce over the roll-ups in the baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cover with foil/ Bake 35 to 45 minutes until bubbly.

Serves 4.

My Blog

This past week I was doing some research on customizing my blog, even considered paying someone to do a template for me. I contacted a woman whose work I admired and she sent along a worksheet and suggestions. It was then that I realized how eclectic my blog is, that tho I have the whole Rapunzel/Castle theme I deviate far from that with vintage images, pin-ups, Native American art, etc. etc. I started wondering if perhaps it is just too varied, if I should split up my blogs into different categories? Would that be more reader-friendly? Is it just too..too much? But it is all part of me, and I don't know that I want to split myself up in pieces, you know? I went round and round about it til my head was spinning and then I decided that I would ask you all, readers and fellow bloggers.

What do you think? Should I keep my blog the way it is or find some type of theme and stick to it, split the blog up by "subjects?" Be honest; even tho I'm a sensitive Leo I can take constructive criticism. Really, I can. *gulp*

On My Hearth: a Menu Plan

I'm trying to get back into the habit of planning my menu weekly, but it's tough when, thanks to teenagers and a spontaneous boyfriend, my dinnertime schedule can change on a dime. So I'm going to tentatively plan a few meals and gather the ingredients beforehand so at least I'm prepared. I'm focusing on meals that will refrigerate or even freeze well should our plans change and I end up not cooking one night.

With that in mind, I'd like to share this recipe which I intend to make tomorrow night. It comes from This Mama Cooks, I copied it exactly from her fabulous blog. I'll use veggie crumbles in place of the ground beef, will put it in the crockpot tomorrow morning so it can be enjoyed by everyone on their own time frame.

Taco Soup
(1 cup = 4 points)

Brown 1 lb. very lean chopped meat (I used ground venison) with one larged diced onion in a large stew pot.

Add:

* 16 oz canned tomato sauce
* 16 oz canned kidney beans (rinsed)
* 16 oz canned pinto beans (rinsed)
* 16 oz garbanzo beans (rinsed)
* 16 oz canned yellow corn (undrained)
* 16 oz canned diced tomatoes
* 1 3 oz. can of diced green chilies
* one packet of dry ranch dressing
* 1 packet of taco seasoning mix
* 1 1/2 cup water

Heat to boiling. Immediately lower heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy.

I also tried this with a scoop of pineapple and mango salsa in the middle. The cold but spicy salsa with the hot soup was an interesting contrast.

This makes a large quantity and freezes well, too.

Happiness Is...

Surprises!

Yesterday after some exhusband drama that I immediately put an end to (yay, me!), I went for my bikini wax appointment, medicated beforehand by Advil and Chardonnay. (It still ouches terribly, why do we women tortue ourselves?) Anyway, since I was wearing my adorable new polka-dot skirt with ankle-strap stiletto sandals, I felt much too cute to just go home so I called my three daughters and discovered that two of them were available for lunch. Surprise! We had a lovely meal at the Ale House surrounded by dozens of men who I'm quite sure were more interested in the NFL Drafts than my legs, but I could pretend otherwise, right? (Hey, I am very much committed to Beren but if I ever give up the ability to flirt just a little, shoot me. Ok?)

Next, I discovered that Beren's girls were making an unexpected visit. Surprise! Since they had both just been in a drama production and had lead roles, we decided to Surprise them with a little celebration. We took them to dinner at the Olive Garden (groan..those breadsticks!) and then back to our house for dessert. I had the grocery store bakery write "Bravo" on a little chocolate cake for them, they were so surprised! Afterward we all sat around my dining room table, laughing and telling stories. Beren dragged out his old photo albums and showed his girls pics of us when we were young and adorable and so in love...just like we are now.

All in all, a happy ending to an otherwise rotten week.

Surprise!

A Bad Day on the Boat...

..is still better than the week I've had!

First off, I want to thank those of you who have prayed, sent energy, cyberhugs, emails, etc. It means so much to me and I truly did feel the positive energy all around me. It has been one helluva week, and though I don't want to dwell on it anymore I do feel the need for a quick recap:

Monday: Exhusband #2 announces his separation and possible divorce. Not a big surprise since he only knew her for 4 months when he married her, then kept the situation a secret from his kids for an entire year, but whatever. What happens to him affects my kids and ultimately me, especially when the estranged wife decides to regale me with hatefilled emails. This is where I had to learn to detach, turn around, not try to fix things, do things differently. Getting invovled in his mess, in his emotional dramas, is what led me to divorce him in the first place and I simply can't go there anymore.

Tuesday: Lily's accident. Not only was the accident horrible enough but I had to deal with aforementioned exhusband at length and we truly should not spend inordinate amounts of time together or I get sucked back into bad patterns and behaviors. (See above)

Wednesday: My ex-brother-in-law calls me after 4 years of no contact, decides that now is the time for our children to get to know each other. Um...our kids are teenagers and young adults, much too old to arrange play dates for. I politely suggest passing along phone numbers, emails, etc. and allowing the kids to decide for themselves. I have no problem with it but it's up the kids, right? Not good enough for him so he calls me incessantly, leaving several phone messages. More drama I don't want to be a part of, and a call to do things differently: Detach lovingly.

Thursday: Our slightly retarded, definitely ditzy but sweetest cat came home limping and bloody. I think that perhaps she was hit by a car so I call in sick to work, took her to the vet to discover that her leg/paw was apparently sliced so badly that it required surgery and resulted in her losing a tendon, one claw and part of a toe. She's on antibiotics and has to be confined to a cage for a couple of days but she'll be ok. The bill, however, was not so ok. Groan.

Friday: Beren and I decide that some decompression/stress relief is definitely in order so we pick up lunch from Fresh Market and head to the boat for a day of sailing. The boat motor had other ideas, though, and we ended up stuck on the mooring calling our boat mechanic. But, hey, it's a gorgeous day and there's no reason not to make the best of a bad situation, right? We ate lunch, drank a few beers and played cards for a few hours, had a great time anyway!

So, that was my week! I know there are much, much worse things out there and I am incredibly grateful to the Universe for allowing me to survive all of this mostly-little stuff and sit here this morning to bitch about it. This, too, shall pass and we'll all be fine. This is a chance to make changes, look at my life, be grateful for what I have and work to make things better. Each day we are called to do that, this week was just a shout instead of a gentle suggestion!

Today's Inspiration: Change..again

I'm finding myself in a familiar, uncomfortable situation and my first response is to react as I always have, and I know that the Universe is calling me to do something different, to learn and grow and change. The way I did it in the past didn't work, no sense in repeating it, time to try something new. But change is difficult, and old habits are hard to break. I came across this article in Daily Om which speaks of this, I'm going to spend some time reflecting upon this today.

Daily Om
Conditioned Response
Reactions To Life Events

Our experiences color everything. The events of the past can have a profound effect on how we see our lives now and what we choose to believe about our world. Our past experiences can also influence our emotional reactions and responses to present events. Each of us reacts to stimulus based on what we have learned in life. There is no right or wrong to it; it is simply the result of past experience. Later, when our strong feelings have passed, we may be surprised at our reactions. Yet when we face a similar situation, again our reactions may be the same. When we understand those experiences, we can come that much closer to understanding our reactions and consciously change them.

Between stimulus and reaction exists a fleeting moment of thought. Often, that thought is based on something that has happened to you in the past. When presented with a similar situation later on, your natural impulse is to unconsciously regard it in a similar light. For example, if you survived a traumatic automobile accident as a youngster, the first thing you might feel upon witnessing even a minor collision between vehicles may be intense panic. If you harbor unpleasant associations with death from a past experience, you may find yourself unable to think about death as a gentle release or the next step toward a new kind of existence. You can, however, minimize the intensity of your reactions by identifying the momentary thought that inspires your reaction. Then, next time, replace that thought with a more positive one.

Modifying your reaction by modifying your thoughts is difficult, but it can help you to see and experience formerly unpleasant situations in a whole new light. It allows you to stop reacting unconsciously. Learning the reason of your reactions may also help you put aside a negative reaction long enough to respond in more positive and empowered ways. Your reactions and responses then become about what's happening in the present moment rather than about the past. As time passes, your negative thoughts may lose strength, leaving only your positive thoughts to inform your healthy reactions.

Crash

When get The Call, the one where you discover that something has happened to your child, nothing else matters. Not the earrings you were purchasing to match the cute outfit you just bought to wear to the first-time meeting with your boyfriend's ex-wife. Not the fact that you had to buy a size larger and therefore found yourself wandering into Lane Bryant to buy Spanx. Not the fact that your paycheck was a bit light this week, or your house is messy, or your internet is down. That shit flies out of your head, it is meaningless. Nothing, nothing else matters. Your heart stops, you drop your shopping basket, you tear out of the store, already on the way to her before you even know where you're going. You wait for the person on the other end to tell you that yes, she is ok. That nano-second of time seems endless, the one between "Lily has been in an accident" and "she's ok." Then comes "her car is totaled," but at that point you don't care. You don't want her to drive again anyway. You want to race to her, wrap her in your arms and tell her that you love her. You want to tell her that she's never again leaving your sight, that you'll drive her anywhere she wants to go, that the world is just not a safe place and you're going to protect her from it. And that's what you do. At least, some of it. You arrive on the accident scene and see her sitting on the side of the road crying, pieces of her car all over the grass, the street...and you are just ever-so-grateful that it's just the car, that she herself is in one piece. She. Is. Okay. Thank the goddess, she is ok. Even as she is ranting about lack of transportation, how it was the other guy's fault, even when the officer is telling you that Lily needs to be more careful, that it could have been so much worse. Even as the tow truck arrives and loads the truck, dumps it in your driveway, lays various pieces of it in your garage. Nothing else matters. She is ok. So you pour a glass of wine, hand your ex-husband a beer, sit on the front porch and look at the mangled mess of steel which used to be her vehicle. You weigh your options, you call the insurance company, you sigh and shake your head and put on a brave face. It's only later, when everyone's asleep, when the shock has worn off, in the wee hours of the next morning that you awaken and the reality hits. Hard. It could have so easily gone the other way. You don't want to think about it so you push those thoughts from your head...sirens and hospitals and...you stop yourself. You get up from bed, come to your computer, and you write. You get it all out, barely able to see the screen through your tears. You write while praying, while thanking God, the Universe, the Powers that Be, anyone who will listen. Thank you. Thank you for making it ok. Thank you for the fact that her feisty 17-year-old self is in her bed sleeping. That other than wounded pride and a bit of shock, she is fine. She'll wake up, she'll borrow Kali's car for a few days or weeks until we figure something out. Minor inconveniences compared to the things that could have been, that you don't want to even imagine. None of those things happened. Nothing. Else. Matters.

Just for Fun

Yay! I love Bettie, she's my favorite pin-up!

You are Bettie Page

Girl next door with a wild streak You're a famous beauty - with unique look And the people like you are cultish about it

What Famous Pinup Are You?

Stockings and Garters and Slips, Oh, My!

As I was getting dressed for work this morning I was thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Silke about slips, and how no one wears them anymore. I read in a fashion magazine the other day that slips are outdated, out of style, and unnecessary. Huh. I never knew this and I beg to differ. Not only does a slip fulfill it's original purpose of keeping folks from seeing through your dress, it's also sexy and girly and makes me feel like Maggie the Cat.

And what about stockings? Doesn't anyone don their legs anymore? I live in the tropics where it's too hot to wear clothes most of the time, so I'm assuming that's why even businesswomen have bare legs, but is that true? Do you Northern gals go about your day sans hosiery? I'm kinda sad about this because I love the look of garters & stockings but other than playing "dress up" occasionally I never wear them!

So, tell me, dear readers, is it me and my casual location? Or is this lack of undergarments widespread? My Inner Pin-up would really like to know.